A Day In The Life Of ...,  News

A Day In The Life Of Alon Goldsmith – A Brilliant Mobile Photographer From Los Angeles

2012-09-10 / 32 Comments

Welcome to our very exciting new column on theappwhisperer.com. This section entitled ‘A day in the life of …’ and this is where we’ll be taking a look at some hugely influential, interesting and accomplished individuals in the mobile photography world. People that we think you will love to learn more about.

This is our fifty third installment of the series, you can read the others here if you have missed them so far. Alon Goldsmith is a relative newcomer to the world of photography. At times he dabbled in the medium but it was only when he bought his first iPhone and downloaded the Hipstamatic app that he turned rogue, embraced the square and embarked on a creative journey powered by a bicycle and inspired by the everyday tensions of people, places and things. Alon was born and raised in South Africa and lived in Jerusalem for six years. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lianne and his daughters Lennon and Noa. He makes his living as a creative director/copywriter at a digital ad agency. Alon’s other passions include music, nature and cycling.

Read more about Alon in our exclusive interview below…

Each image is titled with the apps used to create it in sequential order. You can find all the links the the apps mentioned at the end of this article.

(If you would like to be interviewed for our new ‘A day in the life of …’ section, just send an email to [email protected], and we’ll get it set up).

 

First Things First

mobile

© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Alien Nation’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Let’s start at the beginning of the day, how does your day start?

AG – Coffee in bed. Quick peek at various photography sites. A couple of moves on Lexulous (FB Scrabble game) to get the synapses firing.

 

Magic Hour

photographer

© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Appstract’ – Hipstamatic, Tiny Planets, ScratchCam, Blender

 

JC – Do you like to head out and take photographs early on?

AG – I ride my bicycle for an hour every day before work along an urban creek and the beach. My trusty iPhone goes with me and documents the proceedings. I’ve been doing this for three years now, and still I find new subject matter to keep me engaged. That said, I do secretly worry that the well will eventually run dry. Might just have to change my route!

 

Photographer vs Mobile Photographer

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Aside’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – How did the transition from traditional photographer to iPhoneographer develop? (pardon the pun).

AG – It wasn’t really a transition. More like a revelation or a revolution. Hipstamatic was the flame. It was the release for my inner square. Now I’m slowly expanding my horizons to include new formats and fangles.

 

New Apps

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Dreaming in Color’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Do you like to download new iPhoneography apps regularly?

AG – I download quite frequently. Usually takes a while to try them out though. Neuroses about change and learning curves and all that good stuff. But when I eventually break down and open something new, I become obsessed and there’s no stopping me.

 

Updates

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Hamptons’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – How often do you update your existing apps?

AG – Based on the puzzled expression on my face, not often enough!

 

Location, Location, Location

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Leon in the Lake’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Where’s your favorite place in the world for a shoot?

AG – Anywhere I haven’t been. That said, the tensions that inspire me to shoot are everywhere you just have to dig a little deeper to find them if you’re in the same old places.

 

Tools Of The Trade

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Machinery of State’ – 6 x 6, Snapseed, ScratchCam

 

JC – Do you also use iPhone photography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris and if so do you use it to plan your shoots?

AG – There’s that puzzled expression again. On Google as we speak. Might just use this when I grow up. Mind boggling!

 

Sharing

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Negative Space’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Where do you like to upload your photographs? Flickr, Instagram?

AG – I upload to various really cool Facebook sites my favorite is Hipstamatic Sardinia friendliest place on earth. And then of course, I love Instagram for an instant read on my work. Those micro ego boosts are a guilty pleasure that I can’t resist. When I’m feeling brave I upload to Pixels. Also dig EyeEm and IPA and naturally the AppWhisperer Flickr group. The problem is remembering all these wonderful forums. How about an app that manages all of that and tracks your uploads?!

 

Favorite Apps

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘New Barn’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – What are your favorite, at the moment, iPhoneography apps?

AG – Hipstamatic, Snapseed, ScratchCam, Iris, Blender. Just started fooling around with Camera+, Grungetastic and Simply HDR.

 

Frequency

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Noa Lily’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?

AG – Doesn’t everyone?!

 

Favorite Subjects

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Outside In’ – Camera+, Snapseed, Grungetastic

 

JC – What are your favorite subjects?

AG – My favorite subject is whatever gets me to pull my phone out of my pocket at any given time. It’s that what jumps up and fills the square I carry around with me in my mind’s eye. People, things and places in any order or combination.

 

Top Five Tips

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Pier’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – What are your top five tips for iPhone photography?

AG – Get on a bike.

Look low, look high, look often.

Fall in love with tension, patterns and juxtapositions.

Don’t let your next great shot pass you by stop!

Keep your phone charged!

 

Editing

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Ralph & Marilyn’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Iris

 

JC – Do you edit images on your iPhone or do you prefer to do that on a desktop/laptop?

AG – Mostly on my iPhone. Sometimes on my iPad.

 

Videography

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Recession’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

AG – Not yet.

 

The Future Of Mobile Photography

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Road Kill’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Where do you see the future of iPhone photography?

AG – It will continue to democratize the art of photography. Some interesting questions arise. How do we draw the line between great work and work that looks great? Will the “stock” app effects that we use become seen as cliché? What will define originality? Whatever the answers, it’s an exciting new world and I love playing in it.

Where In The World?

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Shoot the Moon’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – Do you think it’s country specific, are some nations more clued up?

AG – Viva Sardinia! No really, the beauty of the iPhone is that it opens up the world to anyone and everyone. It truly is the great equalizer!

 

iPhone 5

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘The Light’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

 

JC – What do you hope for in the iPhone 5?

AG – Big surprises and that I get one.

TheAppWhisperer.com

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘The Shape of Things’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Iris

 

JC – What do you think of Joanne and theappwhisperer.com?

AG – Phabulous!

 

Links To All Apps Used And Mentioned In This Interview

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Under Ground’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Iris

6×6
Camera+
Grungetastic
Hipstamatic
Tiny Planets
ScratchCam
Iris Photo Suite
Image Blender
Snapseed
Simply HDR

Contact Details

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Waiting’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Grungetastic, Simply HDR

 

Hot Lunch Creative Services
310.694.6573

[email protected]
www.creativehotlist.com/a-goldsmith2

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© Alon Goldsmith – ‘Yellow’ – Hipstamatic, Snapseed

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Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]

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